France private employment: scientific research and development
France private employment: scientific research and development stood at 111,701 persons in Q2 2026, according to URSSAF – Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d'allocations familiales. It is one of the indicators in the Private employment and short-time work (URSSAF) table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q3 1998 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Private employment and short-time work (URSSAF) table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private employment by sector | |||||||||||
| Scientific research and development | 111,701 | 111,843 | 112,183 | 112,611 | 113,152 | 113,241 | 115,093 | 114,879 | 115,074 | 114,967 | |
| Other professional, scientific and technical activities | 205,336 | 205,408 | 205,404 | 206,013 | 206,357 | 207,289 | 207,993 | 215,949 | 217,002 | 218,245 |
Understanding france private employment: scientific research and development
Personnel on formal corporate payrolls dedicated to experimental development, basic scientific investigation, applied research in natural sciences, and engineering research are tallied in this series. The headcount includes laboratory technicians, research scientists, development engineers, and specialized support staff working within dedicated research laboratories and corporate innovation divisions. Independent inventors, university researchers funded directly by public education budgets, and freelance consultants are excluded from these private enterprise figures. This measure contrasts with general technical consultancy rows by isolating laboratories and dedicated research entities from routine engineering design or management advisory practices.
Reading these statistics requires accounting for the long-term nature of research projects, meaning employment levels tend to exhibit stability rather than sharp cyclical volatility across quarters. Initial headcount estimates are subject to routine administrative revisions as enterprise declarations are finalized. Year-on-year comparisons offer the most reliable perspective on research capacity expansion, shielding observers from minor quarter-to-quarter reporting adjustments. Analysts must avoid conflating this specialized scientific workforce with broader professional service categories that include legal, accounting, and advertising personnel.
Frequently asked questions
- Which types of personnel are captured in scientific research employment?
- The count includes salaried researchers, laboratory technicians, and development engineers working in dedicated scientific facilities.
- Are university researchers funded by the public sector included in this private dataset?
- No, public education and government research personnel are excluded because this table covers private sector employment.
- Why is this series less volatile across quarters compared to other business services?
- The long-term nature of scientific research projects generally fosters greater stability in staffing levels over short horizons.